Instagram Analytics

Analyse d’Instagram

Salut!

So even though this post is categorized under “style, I want to discuss IG and it’s stupid algorithms. Before I discuss that though, I just want to say that every item in this outfit is great! I actually ended up returning the jacket, because, long story short, the sleeves were just not working for me. I ended up getting a different one, which I will also link below, but everything else is great.

Okay, so let’s start this discussion. I have loved IG since I finally decided to actively use it my freshman year of college. But once Zuckerberg took over, it was kind of downhill from there. Since the IG feed used to be in chronological order, I would be able to keep up with what posts I had already seen. Now, the pictures that have the most “engagment” are the ones constantly on my feed. This is not only annoying as a spectator, but also as someone who is trying to grow their following. Even though I did not used to care so much about IG numbers, now it’s important that my images are liked, because if I post during the wrong time of the day, I get less engagement. Which means my posts are not seen by the same amount of people as before.

So, as a new blogger, the best way to get people to find your profile is by liking several pages with similar content as yours. This can become very time-consuming though, so there are several start-ups that are basically offering to do this for you. I have to add, this is NOT a sponsored post. I am just telling y’all about what I have been experiencing and the e-mails I have been receiving from several companies. Most of these companies are basically asking me to pay for followers, which I find a bit desperate (sorry to offend anyone with this). I just do not understand why some people think false engagement is good, because in the end, you just have numbers and no real people. So until this week, I have ignored those e-mails.

On Monday though, I noticed that several profiles similar to mine started to like my pictures and follow me. I was very confused because I had not been that active in liking anyone’s pictures. I then received an e-mail from this company called “River” and they asked me if I noticed any activity on my IG. I thought that was a bit creepy at first, but then I did some research about them (this review was the most informative ) and most people who used their services stated that they were only receiving likes and follows from. So, I decided to start their free week trial.

I am now on my 3rd day and I am honestly overwhelmed with this. When I started the free trial, I only chose to have them like pictures that I myself would like anyway, so I am not following and unfollowing people like most other users choose to do. I just do not like doing that to make people come to my page. So with just liking other people’s pictures, the amount of likes on my pictures has sky-rocketed. Like it’s honestly too much, in my opinion. I noticed this after the first day, so I e-mailed the people at River and they explained to me that since they do not use robots to offer their services they cannot control how many likes I receive once they like other people’s pictures. So I started to freak out a bit, because I did not want the people who were already following me to think I was paying for my likes and followers, but that is just how it looks. The craziest thing about River is that you can’t stop your free trial, so once you start it, it lasts the entire week. I know that I am the one who voluntarily signed up for this, but I just did not think it would be this dramatic.

So my takeaway from all this is, River is probably a better company to use if you need more engagement, BUT if you’re like me, you will probably feel uncomfortable using it. The pros about this service is that the people who like your pictures are real AND since your pictures receive more likes than usual, they will reach more people. I’ve had companies that I tagged like my pictures more just in these few days, so that’s a HUGE plus. The cons are that it’s just too much and it does not feel organic, even though it is more organic than all of a sudden gaining 1000000+ followers (yes, I am exaggerating). Another thing I am curious to see is if my engagement will go back to its usual numbers once my week trial is over, because I am surely not spending $49 or $99/month for River’s services. They charge A LOT more than what other companies charge (according to the article I linked), but I can understand why since robots are not just doing all the work and the people who follow you are real.

What do y’all think about using these types of services for IG? Would you rather do all the work yourself or hire someone to help you grow your audience?